Dull Jpgs?

Fritzvds · 04-24-2008, 08:22 PM

This is probably a simple question but, its still driving me nuts.

Whenever i take a photo in .pef(RAW), then post process in photoshop into a jpg the colours seem dull. If I view the jpg in photoshop it looks fine but when I use the windows viewer they are a little duller than in ps.
I hope this makes sense!
Cheers!

jeffkrol · 04-24-2008, 08:43 PM

Originally posted by Fritzvds

This is probably a simple question but, its still driving me nuts.

Whenever i take a photo in .pef(RAW), then post process in photoshop into a jpg the colours seem dull. If I view the jpg in photoshop it looks fine but when I use the windows viewer they are a little duller than in ps.
I hope this makes sense!
Cheers!

Most likely a "colorspace" issue in photoshop.

Gimbal · 04-25-2008, 12:10 AM

Most viewers don’t bother to use the right colorspace, they just stick to sRGB. So, convert your pictures to sRGB (in PS) before saving as jpeg and they will look good in all viewers.

Parallax · 04-25-2008, 10:53 AM

Gimbal is right. It took me a while to figure out why my DNGs exported with ProPhoto color space looked right when viewed with Irfanview (set to: Use imbeded color profiles) but looked dull when viewed with Direcroy Opus' internal viewer. Irfanview recognizes all three common profiles, but DO's viewer only recognizes sRGB and Adobe 1998.

christinelandon · 04-25-2008, 10:55 PM

Fritzvds, you didn't mention whether you use a Mac or a Windows computer. The two use different default brightness (gamma) curves when driving their displays, and the sRGB colorspace default uses Windows gamma (2.2), which is darker than Mac gamma (1.8). If you're using a Mac, you may need to adjust the sRGB gamma defaults in your image processing software to match your Mac system gamma. That may help counter the "dullness" in your JPEGs.

Fritzvds · 04-25-2008, 11:17 PM

Thanks for all your responses.
I had a look and my colour space was set to adobe rgb so I have changed that. Wish I had known it earlier now since I've have had a digital camerafor about 18 months. The next obvous question then is how does this effect my photos when I send them away to get printed.
Do most print shops use sRGB or should i change those for printing to Adobe?
Iam using a PC. Gets more confusing all the time!

Cheers!

christinelandon · 04-25-2008, 11:40 PM

Most camera/big box/printing kiosk stores assume an sRGB colorspace. Professional custom printers (big print specialists) will use settings fine-tuned to their equipment and the papers they use, and will be happy to help you set your file settings to match, or will do this for you. Talk to them first; some will use Adobe (1998) defaults, while others will tweak them, and still others will use some form of sRGB.

Since you use sRGB on a Windows system, you don't have a conflict there that could be the cause of your "dull" JPEGs. May I ask, do you calibrate your monitor and use a color-managed workflow for your image processing?

04-24-2008, 08:22 PM	#1
Fritzvds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South West Oz Posts: 125	Dull Jpgs? This is probably a simple question but, its still driving me nuts. Whenever i take a photo in .pef(RAW), then post process in photoshop into a jpg the colours seem dull. If I view the jpg in photoshop it looks fine but when I use the windows viewer they are a little duller than in ps. I hope this makes sense! Cheers!

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Raw vs jpgs	Tony3d	Pentax DSLR Discussion	4	10-31-2010 01:35 AM
How do OOC K-5 JPGs look?	hut234	Pentax News and Rumors	5	09-28-2010 03:16 PM
An old might be dull question about FA/ limited	yaojinglin	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	9	11-14-2009 05:56 AM
Need help with crooked JPGs, please!	TwoTon	Digital Processing, Software, and Printing	2	07-23-2009 10:33 AM
Suggestion A dull spredsheet like skin	Matjazz	Site Suggestions and Help	4	12-22-2008 10:43 AM

04-24-2008, 08:43 PM	#2
jeffkrol Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Wisconsin USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,434	Originally posted by Fritzvds This is probably a simple question but, its still driving me nuts. Whenever i take a photo in .pef(RAW), then post process in photoshop into a jpg the colours seem dull. If I view the jpg in photoshop it looks fine but when I use the windows viewer they are a little duller than in ps. I hope this makes sense! Cheers! Most likely a "colorspace" issue in photoshop.

04-25-2008, 12:10 AM	#3
Gimbal Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 2,106	Most viewers don’t bother to use the right colorspace, they just stick to sRGB. So, convert your pictures to sRGB (in PS) before saving as jpeg and they will look good in all viewers.

04-25-2008, 10:53 AM	#4
Parallax Senior Moderator Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: South Dakota Photos: Gallery Posts: 19,332	Gimbal is right. It took me a while to figure out why my DNGs exported with ProPhoto color space looked right when viewed with Irfanview (set to: Use imbeded color profiles) but looked dull when viewed with Direcroy Opus' internal viewer. Irfanview recognizes all three common profiles, but DO's viewer only recognizes sRGB and Adobe 1998.

04-25-2008, 10:55 PM	#5
christinelandon Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Seattle, Washington, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 812	Fritzvds, you didn't mention whether you use a Mac or a Windows computer. The two use different default brightness (gamma) curves when driving their displays, and the sRGB colorspace default uses Windows gamma (2.2), which is darker than Mac gamma (1.8). If you're using a Mac, you may need to adjust the sRGB gamma defaults in your image processing software to match your Mac system gamma. That may help counter the "dullness" in your JPEGs.

04-25-2008, 11:17 PM	#6
Fritzvds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South West Oz Posts: 125 Original Poster	Thanks for all your responses. I had a look and my colour space was set to adobe rgb so I have changed that. Wish I had known it earlier now since I've have had a digital camerafor about 18 months. The next obvous question then is how does this effect my photos when I send them away to get printed. Do most print shops use sRGB or should i change those for printing to Adobe? Iam using a PC. Gets more confusing all the time! Cheers!

04-25-2008, 11:40 PM	#7
christinelandon Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Seattle, Washington, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 812	Most camera/big box/printing kiosk stores assume an sRGB colorspace. Professional custom printers (big print specialists) will use settings fine-tuned to their equipment and the papers they use, and will be happy to help you set your file settings to match, or will do this for you. Talk to them first; some will use Adobe (1998) defaults, while others will tweak them, and still others will use some form of sRGB. Since you use sRGB on a Windows system, you don't have a conflict there that could be the cause of your "dull" JPEGs. May I ask, do you calibrate your monitor and use a color-managed workflow for your image processing?